Obituaries 12/25/25
Beverly Bersie, 90
Beverly Ann (Tessmer) Bersie, age 90, of Annandale, and formerly of rural Waverly, passed away at Centennial Villa Assisted Living on Monday, December 22, 2025.
Full obituary will appear in next week’s paper.
The Peterson Chapel, Buffalo is serving the family. On-line condolences can be made at www.thepetersonchapel.com.
Robert Dahl, 90
Robert Henry Dahl, age 90, of Buffalo, MN, passed away at Havenwood of Buffalo, MN, on 17 December 2025, with family by his side.
He was born in Chicago, IL, to his parents, Albert and Freda Dahl on 27 September 1935 and graduated from Fenger High School in Chicago, IL, June of 1954. Bob then worked at the local swimming pool as a lifeguard and played water polo before joining the Army from 1955-1957. While serving in the Army, his father and mother moved from Chicago to St. Bonifacius, MN. After he finished his time in the Army, Bob returned home to St. Boni, MN, where he worked in his father’s hardware store while attending the Brown Institute for electronics.
While attending Brown Institute, he met his wife-to-be, Marilyn G. Dennis, who was going to college at Bethel University. While dating, Bob decided he was going to try out for the Bethel football team, and he made it and was the starting quarterback for a few games and went undefeated during that time until the head coach confronted Bob and said “you can’t play football here unless you register for classes,” so Bob quit his short football career. Bob and Marilyn were married on 6 November 1959 and were blessed with two children, Bradley in July 1967 and Spencer in April 1970.
The family spent a lot of time together traveling, fishing, riding snowmobiles, spending time with grandchildren, competing in racquetball at the local fitness center, playing games, bringing in firewood to heat the house during the winter months, and most important, he loved spending time reading the Bible and attending church regularly.
Bob and Marilyn were long-time attenders of Buffalo Covenant Church and regular attenders of couple’s Bible studies. Marilyn passed away 26 December 2011 from a long battle with different health problems.
Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn; brother, Jack; parents, Albert and Freda; Marilyn’s parents, Virgil and Roberta; sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Bill.
He is survived by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Brad (Teresa) Dahl, Spencer (Michelle) Dahl, granddaughter Sabrina (James) Phipps, great-grandchild (Harvey), grandson, Aaron (Heidy) Dahl, grandson, Logan (Fanny) Dahl, great-grandchild, (Charlie), and granddaughter, Lacey (Billy) Hickey. There are also numerous nieces and nephews.
His memory will be cherished by numerous other relatives and friends whose lives he touched.
Memorial service for Bob will be held Tuesday, 6 January 2026, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior to the service at Buffalo Ev. Covenant Church in Buffalo, MN.
Luncheon will be held at church following the service.
Interment will be held Wednesday, 7 January 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Assembly Area #4 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
Arrangements were entrusted to The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo, MN.
Clark Marquette, 77
Clark Harold Marquette passed away peacefully of natural causes on December 15, 2025, at the Barrett Care Center in Barrett, Minnesota. He was born on June 8, 1948, in Buffalo, Minnesota, to Ralph and Ida (Hoffman) Marquette. He grew up and attended school in Maple Lake, Minnesota.
On May 20, 1972, he married Delia Miller, and together they were blessed with two children.
Throughout his life, Clark worked in construction and as a laborer, contributing his skills and dedication to ARCON, Marquette Sod, Morris Blacktop, Morris Sealcoat, and the Don Laughlin Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. In his later years, he continued to work hard by helping neighbors with farming.
He took pride in his family and found his greatest joy in time spent with those he loved. His influence will continue to be felt through the lessons he taught, the memories he created, and the values he instilled.
Clark loved to fish and hunt, travel, and play cards and dice, especially euchre, cribbage, and 654. Visiting friends and family was important to him, and he treasured time spent together. He also loved playing guitar with family at gatherings and was a member of the band Wagon Wheelers, sharing his love of music with those around him.
Clark is survived by his children: Denise Johnson (Chris), of Evansville, Minnesota, and Darin Marquette (Julie), of Foley, Minnesota; grandchildren Bryce Marquette of Buffalo, Minnesota, and Ashley Mueller of Elbow Lake, Minnesota; great-grandchildren Harlee, Maci, and Chloe; his brother Ervin Marquette (Carol) of Clear Lake, Minnesota; and many nieces and nephews who will cherish his memory.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph Marquette and Ida (Hoffman) Marquette; son, Kevin Marquette; his siblings Floyd (“Bud”), Pauline (“Tootie”) Stumpf, Gene, Clyde, Ben, Douglas, Ida (“Maggie”) Alama, Dennis (“Joey”), Myles, and John; his former wife, Delia Marquette; and his special friend, Shirley Pieske.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2026, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Maple Lake Legion in Maple Lake, Minnesota. Food will be provided.
Clark Harold Marquette will be remembered with love, gratitude, and respect.
His final act of kindness was choosing to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.
Richard Stevens, 90
Richard John “Dick” Stevens, age 90, of Buffalo passed away on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at his residence. An obituary and services to follow after the holidays. The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo is serving the family. Online condolences may be made to www.thepetersonchapel.com.
James Thrift, 86
James R. Thrift, age 86, of Waverly, died, Thursday, December 18, 2025, at Good Samaritan Home in Howard Lake.
Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Delano, with visitation one hour prior to the service and a lunch reception following the service. Pastor Zach Flunker will officiate. Burial with military honors will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery, Assembly Area 2.
James Ray Thrift was born on April 13, 1939, to Arvil and Treva (Shadd) Thrift in Howe, Oklahoma. He lived there with his family until they moved to California for a short time from 1941 to 1944. At that time, they moved back to Oklahoma. In 1950, Treva died of cancer and in 1952, Arvil died in an automobile accident. Jim and his two brothers went to live with Arvil’s parents, Helen and Ray Thrift, and Jim’s two sisters went to live with another relative.
At the age of 17, Jim enlisted in the United States Air Force (with a slightly altered date of birth on his records) and served at James Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas. During his time in the Air Force, he attained his GED. On a weekend leave, Jim took a road trip with a friend in a loaner vehicle up to Minnesota where he met Patricia Guetzkow. The two were married on July 7, 1958, on the base in Waco, Texas.
After his honorable discharge in 1960, the couple moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a short time and then to Watertown, Minnesota, where they lived in the upper story of Slippery’s Bar. They also lived in Chaska, Minnesota, for a few years from 1963-1967. During these years, Jim did many odd jobs to make a living and also suffered a back injury, which put him out of commission for a while.
In 1967, Jim and Pat moved to Waverly, Minnesota, with their family and a short while later, Jim began working at Tonka Bay Boat Works in Wayzata, Minnesota, as a boat mechanic. He then took a job at Minnetonka Bay in Excelsior, Minnesota, also doing boat mechanic work. In 1977, Jim began working as a self-employed boat mechanic in Hudson, Wisconsin. During that time, he lived in his own camper on the St. Croix River near St. Croix Marina, where he would service boats. Many times, Jim’s older children would wax or clean the houseboats while he repaired them.
In 1980, he began driving semi-truck for Nationwide Trucking, Maple Plain, Minnesota, and then for Schanno Transportation, St. Paul, Minnesota, and B.J. Transport, Afton, Minnesota. During his trucking years, he traveled all over the nation. On June 2, 1987, he took his first trip in his own truck, and continued to put on the miles, over a million at least in that truck. He retired from trucking in 2009 while he was struggling with several types of cancer. He continued to live at home in Waverly and tinker with clocks and collect/sell antiques with Pat on eBay, which they had been doing for a number of years. After a slow decline in his health, and the return of his cancer in early 2024, Jim entered the care of the Good Samaritan Home in Howard Lake, Minnesota.
Jim was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Montrose, Minnesota, where he was baptized and confirmed on June 29, 1975. Through the years, Jim loved working on vintage clocks in his basement clock shop. At the turn of the hour, their home was a cacophony of clocks chiming, pausing conversation until silence fell and only ticking remained. In his later years, he waited eagerly for the warm summer months when he could sit in his driveway, smoke his pipe, and visit with anyone who passed by. He repaired many bicycles for grandchildren, neighborhood kids, or anyone who needed one. He and Pat kept a beautiful yard for many years, their red backyard bridge will be remembered by many.
Jim is survived by his children, Denise (Marc) Acciani, Tory (Jon) Thompson, Yancey Thrift (John Andreasen), Tammy Jolicoeur, Treva (Rollie) Epple, and Damon Thrift; 11 grandchildren, Dannylle Milford, Shawna (Justin) Traver, Tara (Bryan) Shoop, Christopher (Ruby) Voight, Jacob (Augusta) Thrift, Randy Jolicoeur, Ashley Jolicoeur, Elliot (Melissa) Epple, Calleigh (Daniel) Stavig, Lewis (Jenna) Epple, and Wyatt (Maggie) Epple; 26 great-grandchildren; siblings, Mary (Gerald) Willingham and Lynda Hicks; and other family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Patricia; and siblings, Charles Williams and Clayton Thrift.
Arrangements entrusted to Dingmann Funeral Care Burial and Cremation Services of Annandale.
Obituary, Guestbook, Video Tribute, and Service Webcast online at www.dingmannfuneral.com.
